The Week in Junk: Fruity Finds

Friday was a rainy day.  It rained almost 4" and then it rained again all night.  Saturday was cold (in the 40's), drizzly and just a soggy, cold day. I usually stay in on those sort of days, but I had the car today and there was a HUGE SALE not far from me that sounded crazy good, so I headed out. The sale turned out not to be HUGE, but I did find some good stuff there and the people that were having it were super nice, so that was good.  (They did have a small child ringing a bell saying in a completely monotone voice "TOYS, SEVENTY FIVE CENTS. TOYS, SEVENTY FIVE CENTS" over and over again like a horror movie.  I offered to buy his bell, but no dice.)   After that I headed to my beloved Super Cheap Thrift to see what I could scrounge up.  The thing about the Super Cheap Thrift is that you would go once and think it was a big let down.  But, you have to look everywhere and at every single thing and you have to go often to find the good stuff.  I never find anything there worth a fortune, but I find a lot of 10-25¢ items I can turn into $5-8 items and some for even more. Plus the ladies that volunteer are SO nice and they love me because I bring my own tote bag, bag my own items and I always round up when I pay.  I know this because they tell me every.single.time.  

Today's finds:

Not a huge amount, but it's all vintage and it's all for sale.  Win-Win!

It was a fruit themed day, apparently.  Watermelon picnic basket, pear cookie jar, orange cup, apple cup and an orange juice set.  Pile of quilt blocks, lone vintage glass, Starbucks demitasse cup (not vintage, but a good seller) and an old reader.  

Cute little juice set.  Two of the cups have tiny chips, but I will price it mostly for the pitcher and throw in the cups.  Cute on a shelf or completely usable too.

The Barrett Collins cookie jar is missing it's lid, but I think it would be good for utensils or even with a plant or flowers in it.  It was only a quarter, so I had to rescue it!  Glasbak milkglass cups - cute enough, right?

Fisher Price xylophone that I am thinking about making into a magnet board of sorts (I mean, what mother actually wants their child to have an actual working xylophone???) and four Texasware lunch trays.  

I bought the big watermelon picnic basket for The Junk Ranch or maybe just the booth.

I got a nice pile of these fabulous old Friendship quilt blocks.  They are really big 18" squares.  They would make fabulous pillows.  I really need to learn to sew enough to pull off things like that.  

Dangit. Sideways.  Anyhoooo - look at that fabric!  TOO CUTE!

The ladies name is Mrs. BEAN.  Love it!

A few recent finds.  

I had passed on one of these at the big sale I went to with Lara a few weeks ago and I was sick I had to leave it (too pricey).  It had big wooden beads, which was cool.  This one has big plastic beads, but it's still pretty awesome.  I think it will fit in at the Junk Ranch with my flashcards and old readers.  

This painting is totally not my color theme, but I for some reason, I really like it.  I love Fall, so maybe that is it.  I seem to be squirreling away simple paintings for the Junk Ranch.  Everyone likes that cabin, campy look and the farmhouse look, so I am trying to find paintings that would go in those themes.  

I already had the one on the right, so when I found the one on the left for 66¢, I had to have it.  I was hoping I could find more in different colors.  But, a little research told me that it is Shawnee, which was nice to find out and that they only made them in yellow.  So, I guess if more find me, I will have a field of yellow tulips!

Last Saturday I only found one yard sale since it was Easter weekend.  When I pulled up at nearly 1:00 in the afternoon, I was surprised to see this old mail sorter sitting in the driveway.  I was less than a block away from where all the flea markets are and the vendors are usually out looking for things like this for their shops.  I figured it was going to be super pricey since it was still there, but it was only $20.00!  I can't decide it I will sell it as it, paint it and add numbers and sell it for more, keep it and use it at the Junk Ranch for display (it weighs a TON though) or use it in the booth for display so it will still me "mine" but it will be put to use.  I'm far to lazy to paint things, so I am leaning towards the display ideas. I don't have room for it, but I might someday if I ever get my office to be an adorable sweet oasis full of vintage craft supplies and my vintage dollhouses instead of the total junk filled crapfest it is currently.  *cough*

I hope yard sales are popping up in your neck of the woods.  The cold weather today really put a damper on it.  But, maybe next week will be stellar.  You just never know!

Hippity Hop! It's Easter Time!

It seems like it has taken forever for Easter to come this year.  My "memories" on Facebook have had Easter posts for weeks now.  I thought I was running late putting out my Easter decorations, but they have been out for three weeks now.  I love them and they make me happy, so that is okay.  :)  My photos are kid of dark, so I apologize in advance.

We all know I like Annalee's.  But, I really only like Santas, mice and bunnies.  And I LOVE the bunnies most of all!  My friends were good to me and have gifted me nearly all of these vintage bunnies.  They make me really, really happy.  (The friends AND the bunnies!)

And look what arrived in the mail ths week!  More bunnies!  More gifts!  

Thank yo, Chanelle!

Ugh, terrible picture.  Lots of my favorites here.  

I've had one of those girls forever.  I found the other at a yard sale crawl last fall for a dime.  The bunny kneehugger was another gift from a friend.  

I love these guys.  Especially the little pink one.  They have a place of honor all year long.  Someday I will find one of those great old bunnies with the looooong ears.  

Tiny hutch with tiny things.  Hey, look! That bunny on the bottom has fallen over!  (Damn cat)  Years ago I had a Secret Pal and she gave me that set of Home Interiors bunnies on the bottom shelf.  Since then, I have found three more of the little thumb sucking bunny.  Bunnies have litters, so it works.  Speaking of babies and birthing - April the giraffe FINALLY had that baby!

Love, love, LOVE those foil eggs.  Always hoping to find more of those.  The pink one has the tag and the original plastic flowers.  I couldn't bear to put those big Mercury glass beads away at Christmas.  Luckily they have worked into all the holidays since.  

I made giant Coconut Easter Eggs for everyone on my list.  I over decorated them, but hey that's half the fun.  They are, if I do say so myself, DELICIOUS.  

Happy Easter to all my peeps.  Thanks for being here with me!

The Week in Junk: Neosho City Wide Yard Sales / Take 2

I knew that the Neosho City-Wide sales were this past weekend, but since we only have one car, I had completely written it off.  We also had company coming in this weekend, so I had to work on that. The Breadman, completely out of the blue, announced that he could bring home the bread truck anytime, so I could have the car to see my family.  Well, that was fantastic news!  And then the light bulb went off over my head and I realized I could go to Neosho!  WOO-HOO!  Game on!  You might remember last year I was just getting started on hitting all the sales when I ran over a broken off street sign post and blew out my tire.  Thanks to The Bean for changing it and the good guys at Wal-Mart for putting a new tire on, I was back on the trail in a few hours, but I had sort of lost my mojo.  I had to redeem myself this year!  

Lara sent me a text about 11:00 Thursday night asking if I wanted to go with her really early the next morning.  Now, in principle. that sounds like fun - a road trip, a day of yard sales, good company, etc. But, in reality, I just don't do 5:00 am very well plus we both like to fill those cars up!  I actually ran into her in Neosho and her car was packed to the gills and mine was too.  So, one of us would have ended up tied to the roof my the end of the day!  (I saw her drive past me as we were walking, but I managed to "run" and catch her.  She didn't see me, so I knocked on her window. I sacred the bejeezus out of her.  Lara, I promise I won't do that again!!!)  

First stop up when we hit town was a Church Sale.  I have heard of these mythological "huge" Church Sales, but we just don't have them where I live.  This sale was packed, both with customers and merchandise.  Items weren't priced, which I HATE, so I only picked up the things that I knew were worth buying.  I packed a box full and had a box full of old books (fill a box for $2.00 on the books) and I only paid $5.00 total.  So, it turned out, things were really cheap.  I took the box to the car and headed on to the sales.  I realized later that I should have gone back in for another box or two or three.  I saw things that interested me, but since I didn't know about the prices, I was very selective.  I was in such a rush to hit the streets, that my mind wasn't working. 

 *Funny story about that little kid in the blue there.  When we walked in, I heard a lady telling "Levi" to stay where he was and not to wander.  Well, he took that as a "see ya" and took off.  But, no one saw him go except me.  Finally, the Mom came looking for him and I told her that he had gone down the hallway.  (It was a dead end and he was safe).  She thanked me and I went on into the Church. My phone was blowing up from my IG buddies wanting pictures NOW :) so, I was looking down at my phone.  That's when I heard someone say, "There she is.  She's on her phone texting, but she's supposed to be watching Levi."  I looked up and the Mom asked me which way he had gone now.  I had no idea, but the Bean said he had followed us in there. She found him and that was the end of that.  But, I have got to be the only person that can show up in a church in a town I've never been to and suddenly be in charge of some kid I have never met!  

  

After the first Church Sale, we went on up the street to the "loop" as Lara and I call it.  Lara was just enough ahead of me at the sales that she was sending me heads up on things I might want or like at certain sales.  She sent me a picture of a great old wall mounted BINGO caller number sign, but I never did find it.  Not sure I would have actually bought it, but I would like to have seen it. We parked at the "Church on the Infamous Flat" (but on the actual parking lot this time) and then walked the loop.  The loop is about six blocks long.  Not only does almost every single house have a sale, but most houses have vendors set up in the yard so there are multiple sales in every yard.  We walked and walked and went to about nineteen sales and I thought we were miles from the car, but we could actually still see it from where we were standing.  The Bean ran a few heavy things to the car before we got too far away.  I really didn't buy that much on the loop since I had to think long and hard about carrying it along the way.  

Here is the end of the day loot shot!  There is a lot in there and I am happy with all that I bought.  But there isn't anything in there that makes my heart sing.  Which is GOOD because that means that it is all FOR SALE.  Perfect!  Let's see what I bought in no particular order.....(there are always things that I never photograph like that wire rack and a wire spinner rack, some smalls like pottery and some carved dogs, a homemade Nativity set and some vintage Christmas nice enough to buy, but not special enough to photograph.)

A Scrabble game for a quarter!  A pile of old flash cards, plus even more that I forgot to photograph.  Six Million Dollar Man game.  Little Tikes Cottage Playset.

I found one of these at the Church Sale.  Pooh was The Bean's favorite, so I always hug them when I find them.  I grabbed him for the Booth, then I found another one at the very next stop.  It struck me funny since I had never seen one like this before - he is a pool toy, hence the life jacket.

At one sale I spotted these old coloring books.  I asked, "How much?" thinking a quarter or fifty cents each.  She said, "How about the whole box for $5.00?"  There's about 50 of them in there, so I decided to buy them.  She asked me my plans for them and for some reason I spilled the beans about selling at The Junk Ranch.  I never let people know I resell.  But, she got very excited and said she LOVES The Junk Ranch. So, that turned out to be fun.  

Lots of coloring books.

This painting is about three feet tall and it cost 50 cents.  Sold!

This old print came from our Goodwill/bathroom stop.  

But wait!  There's more!  Two nice old prints.  

These will not turn the right way for some reason.  Please lie on the table to look at there.  A nice ocean scene painting.  I have an idea for just a nice stack of old paintings to thumb through at The Junk Ranch.  

I'm not supposed to buy books.  So, of course, I bought books at nearly every sale!  There are old school readers and some old Hymnals in there as well as some beautiful old Agri books from the 1940's.

I was trying to find red/white/blue/USA/Americana things for my JR display.  The old skate case makes me really happy.  But, it will be sold.  I have a pair of skates from 1976 - red stripes and stars that I will sell in it.  That hing on the left is an old Punchboard - I think it dates from the 1930's.  Each hole has a little slip of paper in in with a number and a trivia question.  You bought a chance for a penny, poked the hole and looked to see if you were a winner.  I bought a pile of those.  

Three big old trays.  Yes, the strawberry one is upside down.  

A set of eight metal trays.  When I bought them, the lady touched them and said they belonged to her Aunt.  "She took care of everything." she said.  I'm so happy you like them."  

I bought a big box of old family slides.  Lat year I found this light up Slide Viewer, so I knew I could look at them.  I went through them last night and picked out my favorites.  

I thought this was Christmas, but I think it was Valentine's Day based on the plant in the background. Love the PJ's and toys.  

This photo got a lot of attention not for the giant stuffed bunny, but for those horrific hard candy shelled marshmallow Hide 'n Seek eggs the man is holding.  I remember them being so nasty. Yet, every year I look for them in the stores.  Nostalgia.  

Another bunny.  I think this is a Christmas photo based on the wrapped gifts in the background.

I found a name and address in the box, so I did a little googling, and I found who I think is the little boy with the candy eggs.  His name is the same as the name on the box, but with a Jr., at the end.  He would be about 65 now.  He lives in the same town and owns an Insurance Company.  I will probably try to contact him to see if he would like them back.  I enjoy doing that for people.  

We were headed down the the last street, headed for a bathroom break and to start home, when I spotted these under a table with a few other things in the yard. I slammed on the brakes and bailed out to look at them. It was after 4:00, so I figured they must cost a fortune to still be there at that hour. But, I spotted a masking tape sticker on Mary's head that read $5.00/set!  It turned out that the lady had worked all day and was just starting to set things out for the next day.  It occurred to me later that I should have asked if she had any more blowmolds before I left.  They aren't really vintage, but I sell newer blowmolds as fast as the old ones, just at a lesser price.  I think they will sell for my days finds though.

The trip is about hunting for junk, but it is also about a day of fun, a nice road trip, Chick-fil-a Biscuits for breakfast AND lunch, meeting nice people and the junk is just gravy.  I  saw more of the town that I had seen in the past, found five Church sales that I didn't know about last year and now I am ready to go again next year! REDEMPTION!